A Light in the Darkness
by moonofyourlife
Summary: April Herrera has left her life in Chicago behind and has moved to Dillon in the aftermath of her parents divorce. She struggles to find herself and her place in this new town that only seems to care about football. Who will she meet that makes it all worthwhile? Can April find someone to change her mind about Dillon? A story of family, love, friendship, and finding yourself.
1. Chapter 1

"April! _Ven y ayudame._" Estrella Herrera called to her eldest daughter from the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner_._ "It's done, we're here. We're all unpacked and this is our life now. Lying around being upset it doesn't change anything. Your aunt, uncle, and cousin will be here in a few hours."

"It makes me feel better to lie around. Why don't you go and ask Violet, your favorite and most precious daughter?" April said apathetically, referring to her twelve year old sister. She was lying down on their new couch. Situated in their new house. Which happened to be located in the town of Dillon, Texas. Who had ever even heard of Dillon? This was a town losers stayed in because they couldn't get to the big cities, like Chicago, where she had lived all her life. Until now, at least. April had attempted to use this in argument as to why they could not move here a few months before.

"Cielo told me that they won the football state championship this year, that's something, isn't it?" Her mother had told her, not looking away from the mail she was opening at the moment.

"_Mom_," April whimpered. "Am I supposed to care about football? The only time I even pay attention to football is when I am cheering. And even then, I mostly zone out."

Her mother did not answer her, and instead held up the mail. It was a bill.

"Thanks for showing me the mail, mom. Can we please get back to what we were discussing? There is absolutely nothing in Dillon that isn't better in-"

"This is a _bill_, April. Bills ask you for money. Look, my pay isn't terrible, but the cost of living here is too much." She sank into a chair. "This divorce . . . it has taken all of the energy from me. We all have to make sacrifices." Estrella looked into her daughter's eyes and April knew that her mother was looking for compassion.

"I have made plenty of sacrifices. I have sacrificed everything for you to be happy. For you to get this stupid divorce." April couldn't help it, her voice got higher in tone. "This is all your fault! You left your marriage, you did this to yourself. And I hate you for it."

The fighting continued, but April's arguments never ended up working. Not then, not the day after, the week after, or the months to come after.

And now here they were in Dillon. Her mother was right, it was done. There was nothing to do about it. And the fact of the matter was, it was a small Texas town, so the cost of living _was _cheaper than anywhere in the city. They had family that lived here; her aunt Cielo, Uncle Robert, and a cousin, Daniel. This was a fresh start, a possibility of true happiness that April never thought would be possible a few months ago in her darkest days. But April would not let go of her anger. She could not even contemplate doing such a thing.

"April! _Ahora !_ Get up!" Mommy dearest was still a-callin' for her.

"_Si, señora_." She called back, dragging herself off of the couch. She walked to the kitchen to see what her mother wanted.

"Get Leila ready for dinner tonight _Stop sulking._" Leila was her youngest sister, just a baby, only three years old. April didn't know if she could ever love anyone as much she loved her two sisters.

April's mother stared at her hair. "_Dios mio_, your family members will be here in two hours and you have only done half of your hair?" April looked at herself in the glare of the screen door. Her dark, curly brown hair used to be waist length and was, simply put, beautiful, before she cut it. At least it had grown longer in the past few months, and was now touching just barely passing her shoulders.

_ Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to cut it so short, _April thought to herself_. _It was an act of rebellion, a last chance for control. All it really ended up being was complete stupidity. Now it always needed to be straight in order to look presentable.

"Calm down, it'll be done on time." April rolled her eyes. "Why are we having a dinner party? We never used to do this kind of stuff. Can't we just _attend_ dinner parties, not host them?" She stopped asking questions after this, because she got The Look that told her she was cutting it close.

"Just go get Leila clean for tonight. And finish your hair." April nodded and went upstairs before anything else was added to the list.

April expected another boring, dreary night. She liked her Aunt and Uncle well enough, and she had nothing against her cousin Daniel, but all of their conversations revolved around one thing: football. Football, football, and more football.

There wasn't much else to talk about in this dull town.


	2. Chapter 2

April heard the _ring_ of the doorbell and she knew that her family members had arrived. They had come just on time, which she certainly wasn't used to. April had a few distant family members back in Chicago, 2nd and 3rd cousins who visited from time to time who had certainly never came right on time. This never bothered her, however, because it always gave her more time to get ready. And to be completely honest with herself, her family wasn't very punctual either. April's mother said they ran on Colombian time.

Leila, the youngest in the family at three years old, had been bathed, dressed, and her hair had been somewhat combed and pushed back into a ponytail. Doing her sister's hair was always a huge struggle, because it was every bit as curly and thick as her own hair, only a lot more tangled. Leila hated having her hair brushed, and sobbed, kicked, and ran away every time it had to be done. April added a headband to the look, and with that she had finished getting Leila ready.

April was still in her pajamas at the time, and she really didn't want to endure her aunt commenting on her unfashionable duck shorts and YouTube star "Fred" T-shirt, so she called her Violet to bring her the clothes that were on her bed.

"Why aren't you dressed?" She said, squinting her dark brown eyes at me. "They are here already and mom wants you to come down. But you aren't ready. Which I suppose means that you want me to get your clothes for you."

Violet was starting to annoy April, but she smiled at sweetly her and said, "Would you, please? Pretty please? Pleeeaaaa-"

"Alright, alright! I'm going." She turned and walked towards the stairs. "By the way," she said, pausing for a moment. "There is a cute guy downstairs. He goes to your school. Daniel brought him."

"So? Who cares?"

"Jeez, just wanted to give you a heads up. You really shouldn't close yourself off to the new people you will meet. Try to make friends."

"I've only been here four days! I'll make friends once I am settled in at school on Monday."

"I have already met people and made friends. That's because I have actually been leaving the house, not lying around the house all day being depressed."

"This discussion is over." April said in response, and Violet simply rolled her eyes and went downstairs to retrieve the clothing.

April walked back into her mom's room where Leila was watching Winx Club on the TV. She had refused to go downstairs without April, who she constantly said was her best friend. People who had known April as a child always said that that Leila was the absolute spitting image of her sister. They both took after their mother, while Violet, who had fairer skin and a cute little button nose, took after their father.

"Here you go." Violet returned with black leggings and a black babydoll dress with printed grey flowers all over it. The "dress" barely reached her butt, making the leggings a necessity. April smoothed out her hair, and decided that for a very average looking girl, she looked pretty nice. Good thing she had brought her makeup with her upstairs, because she wouldn't have had time to start her foundation routine right now without her mother wigging out at her for not coming downstairs. April hated the minor acne she had on her cheeks. She used to have a perfect complexion, but her sophomore year, acne had started to make its entrance. Without makeup on she felt disgusted by her appearance. April never let anyone outside of her immediate family see her without her foundation and concealer on now. Over the past few months she had learned how to expertly apply it, and it looked like she had a perfectly clear face.

April came down as soon as she changed, and greeted her family members with hugs and kisses on the cheeks. Violet was right, there was a cute boy with them. He had hair that came down to his shoulders, and he was built, with big arm muscles. April knew that he must be a part of the football team with Daniel.

"Hey, April, this is my friend Riggins." Daniel said. His mother, Cielo, then called him over to help carry something heavy from the kitchen, leaving April alone with Riggins.

"It's Tim Riggins to be exact, but nobody really calls me by my first name." He smiled at April. "Danny tells me you're gonna be a junior too."

"Yeah, I am." She smiled back at him. "You're the first person outside of my family that I've met in Dillon so far."

"I wouldn't mind being your tour guide for the next few days," Riggins said flirtatiously. Now April was really glad she had made her hair look presentable tonight.

"I don't think I'd mind that either." She responded, but then their moment was ruined by her mother's voice, calling them to the dining room table to eat.

As April walked to the table and took her seat across from Riggins, for the first time since she found out about moving, she thought that maybe Dillon might not end up being so terrible.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review and share your thoughts!**

"Yeah, that was one sweet pass that Saracen made. . ." Danny said, as the whole table was engaged in play by play of the State Championships that had occurred earlier that school year. Politics? Unimportant. Maybe even something about how school was starting in a few days? Only to say that the most exciting thing was going to be the first game of the season this Friday. No, the topic of choice was football. April found herself zoning out and her mind drifted to the classes she would be taking this school year. It was Thursday, and school would be starting in four days from now. Tomorrow morning she would be meeting with the school counsellor and picking her classes.

"April?" Her mother asked, looking annoyed. "Tia Cielo asked you a question." April had zoned herself out from this unexciting conversation.

"I'm sorry Tia Cielo, what were you asking?" April said apologetically. April had always, for as long as she could remember, called all of her aunts and uncles "tia y tio", the Spanish translations of the words. It was different for her Uncle Robert, because also, for as long as she could remember, she had never called him "Tio". She supposed it was because he wasn't actually Hispanic, but rather an American man.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you were going to do any sports this year. I know that you were a cheerleader back in Chicago."

"Yeah, I was. I don't think I can be a cheerleader here, though. It's already the end of the summer and the first game is next week, right? I came too late." April knew that there was a lot that went into preparing for the first game. You had to get the newbies to learn all of the new cheers, get your first halftime performance ready, and drill all of the stunts. Stunts were what wowed the crowd, and they took time to perfect.

"What about volleyball? When we went up to see you guys in Chicago a few years ago, I remember going to one of your games. You were pretty good." Uncle Robert suggested. _I was only good in comparison to the sucky players on that team, _April thought to herself, knowing that she was, in actuality, a mediocre player at best. Plus, that had been in 7th grade, so it had definitely been a while.

"Wouldn't that have started already too?" April knew that she would just embarrass herself if she tried to play for the high school's volleyball game, because all of the sports must be as impressive as football. The only thing she was truly good at was cheerleading, and that wasn't going to work out for her this school year.

"They _suck_, barely got enough girls to play. They would let you on for sure. You should try out." Danny encouraged.

April really didn't want to, so she changed the subject. "So I guess not all sports are super impressive here then."

"Well, some are good, like basketball. Some are alright, and a few just _really_ suck. But the football team is the best this place has to offer." Tim Riggins said with pride.

"Danny, don't you know any girls on the cheerleading squad that can let April try out late?" Tia Cielo asked.

"I'm sure Riggins can ask Lyla, can't you?" Danny said, laughing. April wondered who this Lyla girl was, and what was so funny about her.

"Shut up man, it's not funny anymore. She's too busy with Christianity to be bothered with that anyways." Tim responded. "Uh, not that being a Christian is a bad thing, 'cause it isn't." He added in quickly. Tia Cielo and Uncle Robert were pretty big on religion, and April guessed that Riggins didn't want to offend them.

"I'm sure the Lord wouldn't want her to give up her God-given talents. It's a shame. Well, April, I am sure you will find something that you will love to do here." Uncle Robert said, but April didn't believe him.

"So, would anyone like some ice cream?" April's mother, Estrella, then asked. The answer elicited a "Yes, please." from everybody, and she went to go get the dessert.

While eating the dessert, her aunt and uncle invited everyone to go bowling, Kids VS. Adults. April loved her Leila very much, but she knew she would be stuck taking care of her the whole time while her mom had fun, and the rambunctious little girl got a little crazy in public places. She wanted to find a way to get out of it.

"Um, actually Ma, me and Riggins had this thing we were going to do." Danny said, and then glanced over at April. "You can come too, if you want. Meet some people before school starts."

Anything sounded more fun than going out bowling with three adults and her kid sisters, so after clearing out the table, April left with the two boys. Luckily, the adults had decided not to bombard them with questions. The air was warm, and night had still not fallen upon Dillon. The boys hadn't come with their own cars, so they walked to Riggins house, which was only four blocks away, to get into his truck.

"So, where exactly are we going?" April asked.

"A party. It'll be fun. You'll get your first taste of Dillon High." Tim Riggins said with a wink.

If she got to hang out with Riggins all night long, she knew that it would definitely be fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Hope you enjoy the chapter! It's more exciting than the other three for sure, and the story is really starting to pick up. The chapter starts sometime after April has arrived at the party. **

"Are you sure you don't want one?" Riggins asked April once again, cold beer in hand. They were at a party that they had arrived at with April's cousin, Danny. "Went off to get with some rally girls." Riggins had told her. "But don't worry, I won't ditch you." And then he had sent that flirty smile her way again.

"Yeah, I'm sure." April said, nodding. "My mom would totally kill me." It was true, her mother _would_ probably kill her for coming home with alcohol on her breath, but that wasn't the main reason she refused to drink beer or any type of liquor. It was not a moral thing, and it was not against any values she held, but she could not stand the taste of beer. She never minded being the only sober person in the room. It was pretty fun seeing everyone get drunk off their asses, because she always remembered all of the stupid things people did and didn't have to deal with a hangover the morning after.

"Suit yourself." Riggins said, opening the can of beer for himself. "So, what do you think about your future classmates so far? Are they as lame as you thought they would be, or even worse?"

April laughed. "I don't know, some girls have been giving me dirty looks. I guess I am already making a bad impression." She really could care less about the snide glances being given to her, because she didn't even know them. If they would give a dirty look to someone they had never even spoken to, then they weren't the type of people April wanted to befriend anyways.

"They're just jealous 'cause I'm with you and not with them." Riggins put down his beer and leaned in closer to her, grabbing her with one hand by the waist. "Do you wanna go someplace a little quieter?" He whispered in her ear.

April was about to answer back when she heard screams that sounded like they was coming from a girl. "_Danny_! Danny, wake up!"

_ What the hell? _April immediately went in the direction of the hysterical screams, Riggins trailing behind her. There was a crowd beginning to surround the area, and April pushed through them to see her cousin lying unconscious by the pool, completely soaked in water with a bloody cut on his forehead.

"Call 911! Oh, God, he isn't responding! We were just messing around when he fell in and hit his head. . ." A platinum blonde girl was saying hysterically. April was overcome with anger, and pushed her. Didn't the bitch see that he needed some goddamn CPR, not a play-by-play to the rest of the party?

April performed her cycles of two-resuscitation breaths and thirty chest compressions, over and over again. April was beginning to panic when she did not see him immediately return to consciousness, but continued the CPR. She knew that adrenaline had taken control of the situation, because during her health classes she always got tired while practicing the chest compressions, but now she felt no ache in her arms. The whole place was silent and crowded around them.

Danny's chest suddenly rose and he sat up and threw up the water. He seemed alert enough. _Thank God for sophomore health class, _thought April. Her relief at seeing Danny conscious was coupled with her anger at the people who were standing around the incident. The blonde girl was hugging Danny, and he was saying, "I'm all right, I'm all right," while people were high fiving and yelling things like "You're awesome!" to April. Riggins appeared next to her.

"Doesn't anyone know how to perform CPR in this goddamn town?" April whispered to him.

"Probably, they're just too drunk to do anything about it."

The ambulance had finally arrived, and the EMT's were asking April questions. Even with Danny insisting he was okay, they were going to take him to the hospital. The hosts of the party seemed to have hidden away all of the drinks, because no one was getting arrested or having a phone call home. All The same, the guests of the party were all clearing out. A near-death situation seemed to take away their thirst for partying.

"I'll go with you, Danny." April said, walking alongside her cousin as they wheeled him out on the stretcher.

"No, no, you did enough tonight. Thanks so much, again. I don't know what I would have done without you." The EMT's were starting to bring him up and into the ambulance.

"I'm not leaving you-" April was stepping into the ambulance.

"C'mon, it was your first night out, you don't need to get in trouble on account of me. It's not even midnight yet, go home. Say that you came home before anything happened."

"It's okay, I'll stay with him. You really helped a lot tonight—it was really cool of you." The blonde girl who had done _absolutely nothing_ but cry out hysterically was outside the opening to the ambulance.

"Yeah see, Brittany will stay with me. Don't worry."

April nodded and got out of the ambulance, still feeling unsure about leaving her cousin. They definitely weren't close or anything, but they were family, so she felt it was her duty. At the same time, Danny was right. It would suck to get in trouble over your first night out.

April looked around for Riggins, but could not find him anywhere. "_Shit._" She muttered to herself, knowing that she barely knew anybody here past "Hello," and "Where are you from?"

She was screwed. _He must have left when he saw me go into the ambulance. _April couldn't even walk to her house, because she didn't know any of the streets here and she couldn't remember the way, either. And, of the few people she had met, she could see none of them.

"Looking for Tim Riggins?" A dirty blonde haired girl asked her. "I would suggest you not waste your time with him. Really not worth it."

"I think that he just thought that I was leaving with Danny." April kept looking around, trying to see if maybe she could spot him somewhere.

"He's gone, probably to get drunk at some other party. Do you need a ride or something?"

April didn't know why this girl disliked Riggins so much, but she was happy to get a ride from anybody at the moment. "Yeah, I really do."

"I'll take you home. The hero of the night deserves to not be stranded." The girl smiled, and walked over to her car, April following her. When they got in, April gave her directions to her house. She didn't remember the number of her house, only the street names, but this wasn't a problem since she lived on the corner of her block. She wouldn't have to squint in the darkness looking for her house.

"So, what's your name anyways? You're new here." She asked as she weaved her way through the streets. "My name is Tyra Collete."

"I'm April Herrera. Yeah, I just moved here a few days ago."

"Where'd you come from?" Tyra asked.

"Chicago." April said with sadness. She had let herself get excited over a boy tonight, but if she could go back home she would go back in an instant.

"Dillon must be a big step down then!" Tyra exclaimed. "What did you move here for?"

"Mom thought it would be a good idea." April sighed and gazed out the window. "I kind of hate it here."

"Even people that have lived here their whole lives hate it, I wouldn't expect you to like it at all." Tyra said with honesty. "What grade are you going into? I'm a junior." April replied that she was a junior as well.

Tyra then pulled in front of April's house. "Here you go, life-saver."

"Thank you _so _much." She unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. "Maybe I'll see you on Monday?" April said to Tyra through her open window.

"Yeah, for sure. We'll hang out.

April was glad to have made a girlfriend. She was very tired from the events of the day, and ignored her mother when she scolded her for coming home so late without calling. Her mother followed her to her room. April started taking off her clothes to change into her pajamas.

"April, _te estoy hablando!_"

"Mom, I know that you are talking to me, I can obviously hear it. Look, I'm sorry, but I don't even know our phone number, so how was I supposed to call? Plus, I don't even have a cell phone that works, remember?"

"A_y, nena, _you could've used Danny's. You are meeting with your school counsellor tomorrow, don't you remember? You shouldn't be coming home so late."

"That party was lame, I left early and hung out with a new friend." April lied.

"What! I thought you were going to be with Danny. I didn't give you permission to go all around town."

"Okay, chill out. I didn't go all around town, just was shown around town. We didn't leave her car."

"_A__y Dios. _You know how I feel about you driving around with other teenagers." Her mother sighed. "Look, just don't do it again, okay? We'll get you a phone tomorrow after you see the counsellor. Goodnight." April said goodnight back, and went straight to sleep.


End file.
